Vol. 50 No. 26
October 17, 2019 - October 23, 2019
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or words or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
Atatiana Jefferson, Killed by Police Officer in Her Own Home
Publisher’s Corner Email: sbamericannews@gmail.com Clifton Harris Editor in Chief Publisher of The San Bernardino AMERICAN News
Montgomery, Alabama, elects its first black mayor, unofficial results show By Eric Levenson and Steve Almasy, CNN Updated 5:17 PM ET, Wed October 9, 2019
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Nobody looked at this video and said there’s any doubt that this officer acted inappropriately,” Forth Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus noted. “I was going to fire [Dean] even before he quit. We had already taken his badge and weapon. There were violations in his use of force, and he didn’t follow de-escalation protocols. His conduct was unprofessional. There are times for officers to act as warriors and defenders, and there are times for them to act as public servants and humble servants.” By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia
Steven Reed and David Woods
Atatiana Jefferson, a 2014 Xavier University biology graduate, worked in the pharmaceutical industry and was contemplating becoming a doctor Atatiana Jefferson, a 2014 Xavier University biology graduate who worked in the pharmaceutical industry and was contemplating becoming a doctor, lived a life of purpose that mattered to all of those who gathered for a vigil on Sunday, Oct. 13, outside of her singlestory, purple-painted home in Fort Worth. Atatiana also mattered to her eight-year old nephew, who is a witness to this tragedy. But she didn’t seem to matter at all to 34-year old Fort Worth, Texas Police Officer Aaron Dean. Dean and his unidentified partner were asked to check on the well-being of the occupants in her home – Atatiana and her young nephew. It was very late at night and James Smith, a concerned neighbor, noticed that her door had been left ajar. Smith dialed 311, a service established specifically for non-emergencies, to ask police to simply check on the home. Dean and his partner arrived. Upon hearing the commotion outside of her home, Atatiana approached her window to see what was happening. Without
identifying himself as a police officer, Dean shouted a command, “Let me see your hands!” and immediately opened fire, shooting through the window and killing Atatiana. Atatiana Jefferson didn’t matter to Officer Aaron Dean, and his indifference meant that she would become the sixth African American to die at the hands of police gunfire in 2019. It’s a statistic that activists and residents are very much aware of, one that has the city of Fort Worth on edge. After Dean’s resignation on Sunday, and his arrest on murder charges a day later, residents are demanding action from the City’s leadership. “Every day you are worried about who might be the next victim,” Stephon Little, one of the many mourners to gather at Jefferson’s home, told reporters. “You’re worried about what could happen if you’re pulled over, or in other circumstances. Now, you worry about sitting inside your house eating ice cream, sitting inside your house playing video games with a child,” Little stated. Eating ice cream was a clear
reference to Botham Jean, a Dallas resident killed by a police officer. Jean was shot and killed while sitting inside his home eating ice cream and watching television. Only days before Atatiana’s killing, a jury convicted former Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger for Botham Jean’s murder, returning the verdict in less than 24 hours. Guyger received a controversial 10-year sentence in prison for her crime. “I cannot make sense of why she had to lose her life,” Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus stated during a news conference announcing Dean’s arrest. Dean was released on $200,000 bond and his police union vowed to financially support his defense, which is certain to highlight that a gun was later found in Atatiana’s home. Lee Merritt, the lawyer representing Atatiana’s family, said that shouldn’t matter. Merritt was backed in his words by Kraus and Fort Worth Mayor, Betsy Price. Texas’ “castle doctrine” law allows someone to use deadly force in their homes if there’s a
threat, which means even if Jefferson carried her weapon to the window in which she was shot, she was within her rights legally. “The gun is irrelevant,” Mayor Price told reporters. “Atatiana was in her own home caring for her 8-year-old nephew. She was the victim,” Price stated. Kraus stated that he would also refer the case to the FBI so the agency could review federal civil rights charges. “This is a pivotal moment in our city, and we will have a top-tobottom review of the police department,” Price said. “Nobody looked at this video and said there’s any doubt that this officer acted inappropriately,” Forth Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus noted. “I was going to fire [Dean] even before he quit. We had already taken his badge and weapon. There were violations in his use of force, and he didn’t follow de-escalation protocols. His conduct was unprofessional. There are times for officers to act as warriors and defenders, and there are times for them to act as public servants and humble servants.”
Black News Channel (BNC) TV Launches in America New 24/7 News Network Scheduled to Launch in November 2019 By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia In a joint teleconference broadcast live from the Four Season’s Hotel in New York’s Financial District, the Black News Channel (BNC) and the National Newspaper Publishers Association announced the official launch date and time for the nation’s first 24-hour, 7-days a week all-news TV channel that will focus on African American news. The new channel promises to inform, educate, and empower nearly 50 million African Americans now living in the United States. The potential for the network appears almost limitless. BNC will immediately have the
potential to reach 33 million households daily in all the major media markets across the nation. Combined with the millions of readers who consume information from NNPA’s Black-owned newspapers and media companies each week, the BNC could quickly become the top destination for all who want to consume African American news on TV and on mobile devices. BNC, which officially launches at 6 a.m. on Friday, November 15, 2019 has agreements with Charter Communications, Comcast and DISH TV. The network already has commitments for carriage in major African American hubs like Atlanta, New York City, Chicago,
(CNN)Montgomery County Probate Judge Steven Reed won the mayoral run-off election, unofficial results show, and will become the first black mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, since the city was founded in 1819. Local media called the election for Reed, who overwhelmingly defeated television station owner David Woods by more than 16,000 votes. "Let the record show tonight, above all ... what we can do when we come together in this city and we build around positivity, around opportunity, and all the things that tie us together versus those things that keep us apart," Reed told supporters at a rally turned victory party. Montgomery elected its first black mayor in 200 years. This is why it matters Montgomery elected its first black mayor in 200 years. This is why it matters Reed's message was one of unity. "Tonight isn't the end, tonight is the beginning," he said. "Tonight sent a signal, not just to all of us here in Montgomery, all of us in Alabama, it sent a signal throughout this country about what kind of community we are right now, not what we were." The vote count, according to the Montgomery County Election Center, with 98% of precincts reporting, was: • Reed: 32,918 votes; 67.3% • Woods: 16,010 votes; 32.7% In his concession speech, Woods said he would work to support Reed and to bring Montgomery together as a united city, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. Reed and Woods received the most votes in August in the city's 12-person primary, leading to Tuesday's run-off. Reed got 42% of the vote, while Woods earned about 25%, CNN affiliate WSFA reported. "We ran a very good race. We worked hard, met with a lot of people, and it just worked out that our opponent had more votes than we did," Woods told WSFA. This new lynching memorial rewrites American history This new lynching memorial rewrites American history Sixty percent of Montgomery's roughly 200,000 residents are
black or African-American, according to the US Census. Longtime resident Diana Stokes Williams told CNN outside a polling station she had marched during the civil rights movement, been through segregation and was "very aware of the prejudice that has existed in her community." "Coming from Montgomery ... where there's been a lot, Alabama's been full of lot of prejudice , and to go from (former Alabama Gov.) George Wallace to Reed would be a major step." Williams said she voted in every election and it is important to have someone who looks like Reed represent the community. She said as a black man, Reed has a greater perspective on life in Montgomery and can see both sides. She added that she hoped Reed would represent all races. Alabama's second-largest city and its capital, Montgomery was also the first capital of the Confederacy early in the Civil War, and many streets and schools still bear Confederate names. Montgomery later became the site of Rosa Parks' famed bus boycott in 1955 and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dexter Avenue Baptist church, as well as the destination of the 1965 Selma-toMontgomery protest marches that met with brutal police violence and led to the Voting Rights Act. The nation's first memorial to the more than 4,000 victims of lynchings, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, opened last year in Montgomery. Candidate touts role as first black probate judge Steven Reed and David Woods Steven Reed and David Woods Reed was elected in 2012 as a probate judge in Montgomery County, becoming the first African-American and youngest person to do so, his website says. Woods is the owner and president of Woods Communications, which owns local television station WCOV, a CNN affiliate. Todd Strange, Montgomery's mayor since 2009, was not running for reelection. CNN's LaRell Reynolds in Montgomery and Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.
Our Values, Mission, & Vision Statement
NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. (pictured at right), who participated in the teleconference, said the NNPA’s partnership with the BNC is a profound win-win for Black America. (Also pictured are Former Republican U.S. Congressman J.C. Watts, chairman of BNC (left) and Jacksonville Jaguars owner, Shad Khan, who is a primary investor in the new network (center) New Orleans, Houston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Washington, DC, Baltimore and Los Angeles.
Tallahassee, Florida, houses BNC’s headquarters, and the (continued on page 3)
Our Values: Treat all people with care, respect, honor, and dignity. Tell it as it is with love, truth and integrity. Promote the interests of advertisers and sponsors along their strategic interest for the betterment of the community and beyond. Speak truth to power. Our Mission: To continuously improve communication between all people of the world. Our Vision: To be the best community newspaper in our region and the nation. Provider of: A voice for the poor, the underserved, those that are marginalized, Positive and edifying news about people, places and businesses. Keep San Bernardino, Riverside, and Los Angeles Counties informed about global trends while retaining the consciousness of local events and processes. Memberships and Associations: The San Bernardino American Newspaper is a member of the California Newspaper Publishers Association, National Newspaper Association and addociated with California Black Media.